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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Didn't finish it. The autobiography in the third-person, the knowingness, the sarcasm and self-deprecation were all refreshing to begin with but their charm has tired somewhat, and it's just too detailed and private a history for me to want another 300 pages of it. Henry would understand: our attempts to educate ourselves seldom have the result we desire.
slow-paced
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
slow-paced
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
This was a real slog. I can maybe see why it was regarded as such a great work at its publication because of timing and the kinds of people judging this sort of thing. But it doesn’t hold up to those standards. There are definitely interesting stories, reflections, and thoughts, but they are buried under so much else that it can be hard to actually grasp what you’re reading.
What a self/important, self-obsessed gasbag.
The book was famously passed around like samizdat for ages, but it is tedious and avoids much about the man that is interesting or important. I took me years to get round to this, but I was driven by the sense that I should really read what is said to be such an important work.
Spare yourself the effort. Life is too short.
Here is a a nice little wrap up of the man from a 1,000+ series of interesting vignettes
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/08/erik-visits-american-grave-part-299
The book was famously passed around like samizdat for ages, but it is tedious and avoids much about the man that is interesting or important. I took me years to get round to this, but I was driven by the sense that I should really read what is said to be such an important work.
Spare yourself the effort. Life is too short.
Here is a a nice little wrap up of the man from a 1,000+ series of interesting vignettes
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/08/erik-visits-american-grave-part-299
This started off pretty well and was quite interesting, but by the end, I was just ready to get it over with. If you are not somewhat familiar with the times, you may be completely lost at some points. The greatest problem I had with the book is that I never understood what he meant by "education" which was the theme of the entire book. Maybe that is my fault for not listening carefully enough.
This book is clearly a memoir and not an autobiography. I would not have even known he was married or that his wife had committed suicide from reading this book. Surely those things would have some educational merit, but perhaps not at this time period. I only found these things out as I did a search on Wikipedia because the context of what he was talking about was diminishing throughout the book. If you decide to read this book, I would suggest finding a biography on Henry Adams and reading it first to get some context.
The best part of the book for me was when his grandfather, former president John Quincy Adams, drags an obstinate Henry Adams to school. The description really captured how we remember certain moments of our past and how some details are clear and others are totally lost.
This book is clearly a memoir and not an autobiography. I would not have even known he was married or that his wife had committed suicide from reading this book. Surely those things would have some educational merit, but perhaps not at this time period. I only found these things out as I did a search on Wikipedia because the context of what he was talking about was diminishing throughout the book. If you decide to read this book, I would suggest finding a biography on Henry Adams and reading it first to get some context.
The best part of the book for me was when his grandfather, former president John Quincy Adams, drags an obstinate Henry Adams to school. The description really captured how we remember certain moments of our past and how some details are clear and others are totally lost.
Honestly, though this book was a little slow at times (and I don't particularly like the author), the ideas are profound, and I enjoyed reading them.